Police resolution after 2017: Keeping city safe during New Year party

There were multiple instances of molestation and harassment on MG Road and Brigade Road during the NYE party of 2017; Bangalore Mirror photographers had captured the shameful incidents on camera after which the police started working on a never-again plan. The 2018 and 2019 NYE parties were proof that it worked

Highlights

Elaborate Standard Operating Procedure drawn up for crowd control

Bengaluru top brass decided that while genuine revellers shouldn’t be harassed, but hooligans and trouble-makers should be kept at an arm’s length during public parties

After the massive pre-emptive security muscle that was on display on New Year’s eve, there may be many in Bengaluru who see the Bengaluru City Police as party poopers. But this near-siege of MG Road and Brigade Road, ensured that the annual New Year eve celebrations ended without any major untoward incidents.

After BM had highlighted the unfortunate turn that New Year celebrations took on December 31, 2016, when hooligans went berserk and misbehaved with women, the city police are now prepared. They now have a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for how to secure a street party on New Year’s eve. And they plan to improve it every year.

“We decided that providing security during the New year’s eve was one of the topmost priorities of the department. So we studied the type of crowd and why certain areas were sensitive, and came up with a SOP. Our objective was to find that thin balance between maintaining law and order but allowing fun and revelry within legal limits,” said Seemanth Kumar Singh, Additional Commissioner, Bengaluru City ( East).

Better than last year

This year’s security arrangements were one better than last year. The ambit of revellers was extended beyond MG Road to include Koramangala, Marathahalli, Whitefield and along Bellary Road where multiple events, parties and gatherings were planned.

Additional commissioner (West) BK Singh had told BM that the main priority of the police at MG Road and Brigade Road was not to allow people to congregate anywhere and keep the crowd moving. Known trouble-makers and inebriated people were not allowed to be a part of the crowd and there was heightened focus on the safety of women and children.

Plan of Action

Acting on the feedback received from area-wise police inspectors about the nature of New Year celebrations and the disturbances they anticipate every year, the police prepared an action plan. They held confidence-building meetings and interactions with various stake holders including residents’ associations, pub owners and even mohalla committees.

Mico layout police personnel cutting new year cake with residents of Gulbarga Colony

Different strokes, different folks

“The crowd on the street cannot be classified into one homogenous entity with common ideologies, age and backgrounds. In some localities, we had people going home after church service and at the same time young men and women from hostels and PG accommodations would be out on the street celebrating the New Year. We could not have dealt with these two different groups in the same manner,” said a senior police official.

The city police realised that different areas of the city behaved differently. Brigade Road was not only a destination for a large number of revellers from all over the city, but it was also the go-to place for women and families celebrating New Year’s eve. On the other hand, areas like Indiranagar would see crowds on the street around 2.00 am, almost all of them inebriated, when the pubs started shutting down. There would be a rush for autos and cabs around that time.

“We had instructed local inspectors to have meetings with cab drivers, local auto rickshaw unions, pub owners and also the security guards to sensitise them and make them realise that they were also responsible to ensure the safety and safe return of their customers,” said Seemanth Kumar Singh.

Keeping trouble makers away

After conducting these meetings to sensitise their own men and other stake holders, the city police decided to keep ‘trouble makers’ away from the streets. It was then decided that the law and order police would also keep a watch on the streets for two-wheeler riders, especially those bikes modified to perform stunts and those without proper documentation. Since December 30, the law and order police in East Bengaluru division alone seized 800 such motorcycles with the Whitefield subdivision alone seizing 163 vehicles. Additional Commissioner (Traffic) P Harishekaran had also told BM earlier that the traffic cops were on the lookout for rash driving and drunken driving on New year’s eve.

“Last year, we had kept the flyovers closed but we found that the wheelie riders were speeding underneath the flyover, on service roads. This year, we had deployed our men under the flyover too, to keep a check on such people,” said a traffic police official.

Since last year, the city police have accorded the same weightage to New Year celebrations as they would to other occasions like Ganesh Chathurthi and other religious processions with a sizeable crowd. So preventive detention measures were also taken. All known trouble-makers were detained from all police stations, from December 31 afternoon till 3 am the next day. Police stations in Whitefield sub division detained at least 87 such people. Some of these also included certain violent antisocial elements who have recently been involved in grievous assault and attempt to murder cases.

The city police also conducted various confidence-building measures among youths from identified localities in their limits. Police officials from Mico Layout station celebrated their new year with youths and residents of Gulbarga colony. They also cut a cake and greeted each other. The police said that such interactions helped local residents take the initiative to assist the police in maintaining law and order in their area.

“At Koramangala, we had put up a video wall on which a live feed from security drones was displayed. We had also ordered all pubs to keep at least four to five cabs always on standby if their customers could not flag a cab and had to be dropped home safely. We had also insisted that pubs keep women security personnel on New Year’s eve. We had also made some preventive detentions ahead of the New Year,” said Boralingaiah, Deputy Commissioner (South East), Bengaluru City.

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